Werewolf Packs
Werewolf Packs live in ways similar to wild wolf packs, they are comprised of several core families plus additional members. Werewolves are led by a singular Alpha, unlike wild wolf packs who are led by an alpha male and alpha female, this is due to the fact that hereditary werewolves only pass their full powers onto their sons and thus a Werewolf Pack is usually solely male. The exception to this is the North American Pack who have a bitten female Alpha, Elena Michaels and a juvenile born female Werewolf, the product of two bitten Werewolves, Katherine Danvers, their Alpha is also considering allowing the daughters of hereditary Werewolves to become Pack members. Most Packs are comprised of hereditary Werewolves who are born into the Pack from their fathers, some hereditary Werewolves may join from outside the Pack, called 'mutts' as well as rare bitten Werewolves. Being born into a Pack does not guarantee you membership although you will be raised among them unless removed by your father or through other circumstances. Being born into a Pack also does not require you to remain a member, although some Packs may punish or hunt down those who leave, most allow them to leave as they view leaving the Pack as a form of cowardice. In modern times most Packs live blended among human society. Most Werewolves carry fake ID as they age at a reduced rate and cannot risk suspicion from their ID's age not matching their physical age, as well as to stay under the radar from law enforcement and governmental bodies. The North American Pack avoided serving in the Vietnam War this way, using fake identification and draft passes to avoid being called to serve, so as not to risk exposure. A Werewolf pack offers an education and training opportunity not available to mutts, in a Pack Werewolves learn to better control their instincts to greatly lower the risk of becoming a man killer or man eater. Pack wolves learn to fight, track and evade in ways that most mutts don't, by controlling their wolf instincts they can use their human intelligence in either form to trick and lay traps for their enemies that mutts would not be able to. Pack wolves can also learn to control their Changes with more ease than mutts, this was especially true with the reign of Jeremy Danvers, before he became Alpha he began teaching Pack sons what to expect from their first Change, how better to deal with it and adjust to becoming a full Werewolf. Jeremy continued these teachings after ascending to Alpha, partially due to his teachings Pack wolves can Change faster and with more ease, as well as being able to reverse their Changes when mutts would not be able to, avoid a Change at a time of emotional duress and effect a partial Change. Most Packs chose to live at least somewhat communally, among their family units removed from human society as much as possible with land on which to Change. Pack members who are not members of a central pack family will often still live with her other pack members, in some cases becoming wards of an elder Werewolf or being adopted into their families. Most Pack Werewolves do not relish the idea of living among or with humans, whether that means in an urban area or with humans occupying their territory. Although Pack members often live relatively close to one another, within a few hours or a half days travel by car, this is not deemed a law as long as they attend meets. A Meet is a gathering of the Pack, they have no set timing, happening at regular intervals or when needed, similar to a family gathering. Some occur around human holidays for cover although Packs do not generally celebrate human holidays fully. Some meets are informal and no punishment will be met for not attending but others are compulsory, such as voting for Alpha, and must be attended. Important decisions such as; the execution of a mutt, the ascension of an Alpha, the elimination of an exposure threat could be discussed, debated or voted on at a meet. With most Packs operating hidden amongst human society the ways they chose to blend in differ. The Australian Pack is a criminal enterprise and rules the entirety of its territory with an iron first, treating the Mutts who live their as an expendable resource. The North American Pack are much more subtle, choosing whichever occupation and lifestyle they wish as long as they follow Pack law, Jeremy Danvers is a successful painter, Clay Danvers has a PHD in anthropology and lectures at Universities when he isn't publishing his work, the Sorrentino's run a successful multinational company and Elena Michaels is freelance journalist, a job she always aimed for before becoming a Werewolf and which she now uses to also monitor exposure threats and investigate when she needs to. Female Werewolves Natural-born female Werewolves sired by hereditary male Werewolves do not exist. Reports of daughters inheriting secondary powers have been documented, such as Daniella DuMaurier and Madison James, these powers are always weak such as a heightened sense of smell allowing them to identify the scent of a Werewolf, they may also carry a slight Werewolf scent as Reese Williams claimed he could smell on Madison James. Any reports of daughters becoming full werewolves have been disproved, see the Scottish incident below. The only way for a woman to become a Werewolf is to be born of two bitten Werewolves or to be bitten herself. Cases of human men surviving the initial transformation are rare and instances of human women surviving are even rarer, detailed below. As the cases below indicate, it is possible for a human woman to become a Werewolf. However, there have been no documented cases, other than Elena Michaels, of one remaining a Werewolf for any significant length of time. The instinct to mate is a strong one, in many of the cases listed below, the bite was intentional. A Werewolf attempted to satisfy the mating instinct by biting a human woman. The Scottish Incident 1837 A Pack werewolf claimed his daughter, who had been left with her mother, had inherited the ability to Change into a wolf. He presented her to the pack at the age of seventeen. The Alpha took the girl aside and 'confirmed' that she was able to complete the transformation. He then decided it would be safest for the girl if he made her his mate. Citing the girl's sensitive nature, he took her far from pack territory for her weekly Change. it was later discovered that the girl could not transform. The Alpha and the girl's father had conspired to circumvent the ban against mating. When the Alpha was confronted, he bit the girl, but she did not survive her first change. Documented Female Werewolf Cases These cases are of female Werewolves of the British Pack and former colonies post 1800 who survived their first change, their survival time is less than one year unless otherwise noted. * Eliza Booth, England, 1835, died in a revenge killing against her mate. * Gladys Young, Wales, 1856, she survived for approximately 18 months before being killed by her jealous mate. * Name Unknown, America, 1890, committed suicide for unknown reasons. * Name Unknown, England, 1895, a man-eater who was killed escaping the police. * Name Unknown, Australia, 1921, killed herself after being attacked by a potential suitor. * Name Unknown, India, 1930, she was killed by her jealous mate. * Dorothy Cotter, England, 1946, was murdered by a rejected suitor. * Anna Graham, Ireland, 1962, she survived for approximately 2 years before committing suicide for an unknown reason History Ban on Mating (circa Becoming, 1989) The issue of mating has been a contentious one since the first werewolves came together for brotherhood and support. In the distant past, a Pack could live with its human mates and children in isolation, eliminating any exposure threat. While this continues to work in some remote and less civilised European nations, it has not been an option in the British Empire following the Welsh incident (detailed below) In the aftermath of that tragedy, the British Pack refined the custom for itself and its colonial members. It was decreed by the Alpha that they should follow a model close to that of wolves, where only the Alpha is permitted to mate. To further restrict the exposure threat, the next Alpha would mate with a daughter of the previous Alpha. Any other daughters remained with the Pack as domestic help. To this day this is how the Australian Werewolf Pack continue to live. The Belgian incident, detailed below, has forced the British Alpha to reconsider this custom. It is now decreed that, following the current Alpha's reign, the taking of a mate will be banned for all Pack members. The Alpha has also decreed that, if the necessary precautions are taken, human servants may take the place of the Alpha's daughters for household management and childrearing duties. In the event of an exposure threat, the servants must be executed. The same precaution will be taken for any servant bearing the son of a Pack member. The Australian Pack has shown itself unwilling to conform to this ban. Attempts to enforce it resulted in the loss of three British Pack members, who reportedly perished from hardships endured on the voyage. The British Pack has decided not to pursue the matter further and do not to this day. The Welsh Incident In 1721, the Alpha's mate led a revolt after he brought home a second bastard son for her to raise. The wives threatened the Pack with exposure if they did not conform to the standard of fidelity espoused by both the Christian bible and wild wolves, namely lifelong loyalty to one's mate. The Alpha ordered all mates executed as a precaution against this exposure threat. Many Pack members disagreed, being more attached to their mates than was the Alpha. An attempted mating resulted in the death of over half the Pack members, including the Alpha, and the ultimate dissolution of the Welsh Pack. The Belgian Incident In 1833, five members of the Belgian Pack were executed by the Alpha, who suspected them of having adulterous affairs with his mate. The Alpha's mate retaliated by luring him into a nearby village and accusing him of killing a young woman found mauled in an animal attack a few months prior. The Alpha was tried and executed by the villagers. The Alpha's mate was tried and executed by the Pack. Internal dissent over this matter led to the dissolution of the Belgian Pack. A similar incident was reported- though not confirmed- in Serbia several years earlier. Known Current Packs * North American Werewolf Pack. Alpha- Elena Michaels * Russian Werewolf Pack. Alpha- Roman Novikev * Australian Werewolf Pack. Alpha- Keith Tynes * British Werewolf Pack. Alpha- Hollis John Parker * Bulgarian Werewolf Pack. Alpha- Marko Todorov * French Werewolf Pack. Alpha Unknown. * German Werewolf Pack. Alpha Unknown. * Italian Werewolf Pack. Alpha Unknown. Category:Werewolf Packs